Urban farming, rooftop gardening and hydroponics all proffer a vision of urban architecture with an added layer of sustainability. By rengineering humble concrete, the Structural Technology Group has developed a building material which incubates pigmented oranisms. The concrete provides a striking visual appearance bundled together with environmentally beneficial attributes.

The patented biological concrete encourages and accelarates the growth of a select group of pigmented organisms, such as lichens, moss, microalgae, and fungi. The speed at which the concrete fosters it microorganism communities is key: ensuring aesthetic appeal ahead of blotchy buildings was paramount in the researchers concerns. Biological Concrete's been designed to work with mediterrean buildings, and in addition to providing a symbiotic aesthetic the new material increase thermal efficiency and helps the building double up as a carbon sink!

Admittedly this project isn't as mind blowing as transparent concrete. But as vertical farming, hydroponics et al have already raised our expectations of how architecture can help provide a sustainable future, so too does Biological Concrete propose a future where a city's architectural façades provides a visual metric of its symbiotic sustainability.